HaDorkim HaQdosim (Sacred Band Infantry)
|-|EB2= |-|EB2= EB1:The Sacred Band is the elite infantry of any Carthaginian army and can be relied upon to do their duty to the end. EB2:Fighting in the manner of our ancestors as a traditional Phalanx, these men are equipped with the most expensive and ornate accoutrements available. Description The Sacred Band are an elite infantry of a different kind than the Elite Africans. Trained from a young age to be tough phalanx spearmen, these men are from wealthy Kart-hadastim families, and as such have extremely good equipment. They are trained from birth to be great warriors and they are able to afford high quality armor and weapons. They fight as a traditional Phalanx organized in the Spartan style. They are a nearly impervious wall from the front and are extremely hard to flank due to the fact that they are as proficient with their swords as with their spears. Even the heaviest cavalry is no match for the Sacred Band as long as they’re presenting their spears in the direction of their attacker. Only a flanking maneuver by heavy cavalry or heavy infantry has a chance of breaking them in a melee. They are proficient with their swords as well, often able to provide an elite assault infantry when required. Though they’re really too heavy for the role, but can excel as a shock infantry when needed. The Sacred Band was a group of soldiers that were dedicated to Baal, the great father God of the Phoenician/Canaanite pantheon. They were all members of the nobility, and were called upon to fight their country’s wars as an elite unit that formed the right wing of the phalanx. They were all slaughtered in Sicily by the armies of Syracuse in the fifth century BC, but many records speak of an elite unit that fought on the right wing of the Phalanx long after their demise. Perhaps the Kart-hadastim simply did not wish to tempt fate with a name like the Sacred Band again… ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Sacred Band is an elite corps of Qarthadastim citizens, described by Diodoros as 'distinguished for their valour and reputation along with their wealth' (Diod. 16.80.4). These scions of the nobility wore ostentatious armour, and may have carried white shields (Plut. Tim. 27.6; 29.4). Superbly equipped and drilled, they were initially kept in reserve before being committed to assist if the fighting was difficult. These were men of property, those who could afford their status, and thus would fight, to the death if need be, to defend their homeland. The Sacred Band are mentioned by Diodoros Sikulos and Plutarkhos in the campaigns of Timoleon in Sicily in the 4th century BC. At the battle of the River Krimessos in 340 BC, where the Qarthadastim were defeated heavily, the former claimed that they were almost destroyed (Diod. 16.80.4). They were also mentioned in association with Agathocles' activities in 311/0 BC, but, after another crushing defeat, disappear from the record (Diod. 20.10.4). Some scholars suggest that, after these setbacks, the corps was never reconstituted: citizens would only fight in an emergency as levies. Despite this, it is possible that such a tradition could have been revived in some form. It is likely that the Sacred Band fought as heavy infantry, equipped as a heavily armoured pike phalanx, which enemies would struggle to break through. They are attested as carrying white shields, and wearing ostentatious but functional, armour (Plut. Tim. 27.6; 29.4). They were probably also equipped with swords and would have made excellent makeshift assault troops, in lieu of alternatives. We learn from Diodoros that they were unsurprisingly placed on the right wing in the place of honour (20.10.4). Usage The Elite Infantry of the Karthadastim, these men are highly similar in stats to the Dorkim Leebi-Feenikim Aloophim (Elite Liby-Phoenician Infantry) except having much more morale. As such, these men are highly useful in protecting the most vulnerable part of your battle line and they can be used as an elite reserve unit. Category:Units Category:Karthadastim